Sunday, July 27, 2008

Day 13...Alaska!...Spectacular Views...Challenging Roadways...and...First Moose Sighting!

I left Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory at 9:00AM this morning. It's a nice little town. I did laundry at a local laundromat, had a "musk ox steak" for dinner...not bad, but a bit dry, and enjoyed some local band entertainment at "Flipper's".
Weather was partly cloudy heading out towards Kluane Lake. At the south end of the lake there was major road construction, and I followed two cycles for about twenty miles on very loose gravel. The roads did not improve much, although I will say that the Yukon government is meticulous in placing little red flags at every bump and dip in the road.
Lots of cool mountain scenery. I crossed the border into Alaska at around 2:30PM Pacific time (1:30PM Alaska time). I thought that the border crossing might be cool...duty free, etc...not quite...pretty ho-hum. Roads in Alaska were not an improvement over the Yukon...and...Alaska is not nearly as conscientious about the little red flags. Also, "loose gravel patch" is to Yukon as "road separates" is to Alaska. Once I got to the town of Tok, road conditions improved considerably, and I was able to travel at a consistent 70mph. At approximately 4:29PM (Alaska time), I finally spotted my first Moose...who promptly sauntered into the woods before I could get a photo. A few "Moose observations"...they're BIG, they don't respond well to human conversation ("Hey, Moose dude, 'sup" did not elicit any response, they do not always travel with flying squirrel...mine was "solo".
I am now relaxing at the Super 8 motel in Fairbanks after a long (11 hours) day of driving. Tomorrow, I'm thinking of heading northwest to the "Chena Hot Springs"...although I won't be able to "go in all the way" after my surgery.
Wednesday, I'll be heading down to Anchorage to rendezvous with Paul's sister, brother-in-law and niece...and...at 10:00PM, I'll be picking up Paul and Hunter at the airport. Then, it's down the Kenai peninsula to "Clam Gulch" for clamming, then on to Homer for camping on the Homer "Spit".

Today's Music
Early...all techno with all the best from DJ Tiesto, Paul Oakenfold, and John Digweed...good driving music! Later, Sunday with the Sundays...Reading, Writing & Arithmetic, Static & Silence, Blind.

Daily Wound Report
Everything still going great...healing up fast. If I can find one, I might stop at a "Walk-In" Clinic here in Fairbanks to have a Doctor check things out.

"Blogger.com" is not letting me upload any photos tonight...so...we'll just have to wait until tomorrow.

More later...

2 comments:

Laurie A said...

I love your blog. The pictures are great. I saw the deer!!!

You will not believe the number of bald eagles that you will see in Alaska. Look for the nests.

Alaska is amazing. I have been there twice. The scenery is so amazing. Do not go walking around with raw salmon unless you want to be dive bombed by massive birds.

Fair winds, Laurie

Renee said...

Tell Paul and Hunter to have a safe trip and enjoy themsleves. Also since I have no way of getting ahold of Sasha could you please have her call me.

To bad the Moose was alone, I would like to have a few words with Rockie the flying squirrel. I was scared of squirrels because of him when I was young.

Enjoy Alaska be safe and I miss ya.

Kisses and Hugs
Nay